1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to the field of land vehicles. More particularly, the invention pertains to handle supported tiltable hand vehicles for the transportation of liquids and granular products.
2. Description of Related Art
People around the world, especially in rural communities, and those struck by natural disasters, are often required to transport water for domestic uses from a well or other water source to their home. The transportation of large quantities of water can be tiresome over rough, rugged terrain, and the water often needs to be filtered or treated in another way before the water may be used for everyday needs. Transportation of large quantities of water is difficult due to the nature of liquids and the weight of liquids.
Various types of transportation devices have been developed in the past for transporting water, fuel, waste and other liquids, but they all are problematic for people who need to transport liquids or granular products in a rural environment with a rugged terrain. Problems that people in rural communities face include: having to transport the water over a great distance; limited storage area for both the transport device and the hollow container itself, stability of the transport device, in that the liquid, such as water, is a limited resource that can not afford to be spilled or lost; and treating the water or liquid before it is used for human or animal consumption.
There are numerous examples of transport containers for the movement of liquids. One example is Budrow et al. ""s, xe2x80x9cPortable Tank with Extending Handle,xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 5,346,245, issued Sep. 13, 1994, which discloses a plastic tank with a handle that extends, where the handle is part of the molded plastic that makes up the tank. Mounted to the plastic tank to allow movement is a set of wheels.
Another example of an invention that transports liquids is Heisson""s xe2x80x9cWaste Transporter,xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 4,778,191, issued Oct. 18, 1988, which discloses a transport device that has a tank with an entry-exit chute at one end and wheels on the other. A handle is attached to the chute end of the tank to act as a fulcrum when the tank is put in an upright position to empty the tank of its contents. There is only one way to empty the tank, which is pushing the container so that the chute portion goes up in the air, which is awkward, and empties only a small portion of the container by gravity. The position with which the container needs to be emptied lends itself to spillage and would be difficult to position the tank in the correct position to empty it by ones self.
Vlasicak""s xe2x80x9cVersatile Fuel Container,xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 5,139,278, issued Aug. 18, 1992, discloses a 25 gallon container that has wheels and a handle. The container has only one spout, which located at a 45-degree angle relative to the front and top walls of the container. This invention can only be emptied of its liquid contents by lifting the container since the only spout is located at the 45 degree angle relative to the front and top wall of the container.
Another example of a transport device for liquids is Latouche""s xe2x80x9cTowable Mobile Fluid Carrier,xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 5,370,409, issued Dec. 6, 1994, which discloses a container with a recessed region in the lower middle portion, a carriage assembly, and a vent mouth and cap located in the top of the container. The carriage assembly consists of wheels and a handle, with the wheels fitting into the recessed portion of the container. This invention can only be emptied by picking the container up and turning it on its side, since the vent mouth and cap are located at the top of the container body, which is unstable.
Brown""s xe2x80x9cPortable Liquid Dispenser,xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 6,047,866, issued Apr. 11, 2000, discloses an insulated, removable container, on a wheeled container cart that is mounted on the cart in a raised position only, so as to allow water to dispense through multiple tubes by gravity.
Another example of a transport device for liquids is Litin et al.""s xe2x80x9cSpill Containing Storage and Transportation Device,xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 5,480,191, issued Jan. 2, 1996, which discloses storage and transportation of metal drums, using a cart that contains a recess for collecting spills or overflow, wheels, and hand-holds.
Barber et al.""s xe2x80x9cTransport Container with Integral Dolly,xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 5,294,137, issued Mar. 15, 1994, discloses a removable container that fits into a metal frame that has 4 wheels and one handle. The container is supported in the metal frame by straps. The container has two openings, one on the bottom and one on the top of the container. The placement of the top opening is such that when the container is in the metal frame, the container cannot be emptied fully, since the opening is above a recessed portion of the container. Furthermore, with the small sets of wheels, the transport would not be applicable to a rough, rugged terrain.
All of the above transportation devices for liquids do not allow a storage place for a mesh strainer or a mesh strainer device to strain the incoming liquid.
The invention presents a multi-purpose transporter comprising: a hollow container having at least one opening located at least on the upper surface of said container; a metal frame surrounding said container and said metal frame is attached to a pair of legs; a pair of handles on either side of said container, having a first end containing hand grips and a second end connected to a pair of wheels; at least one support strap that extends from one of the said pair of handles, underneath said container to the other of the said pair of handles; and a container opening on a surface such that when said legs are above said pair of wheels, said opening is above a forward support element.
The present invention solves the problem of the rugged terrain by using wheels of a large circumference. The stability of the container is ensured by the use of two handles to push, pull, or use to tilt the container. The container has two openings that can be used to drain the container, both at the top and the bottom side of the container. The opening on the top of the container is placed in such a way that the container can nearly be completely emptied when the legs are placed above the wheels, and the container is resting on the forward support element.